Too Late to Fix a Mistake?
by mykkila09
Summary: HP/DM slash...Harry and Draco are together and happy until a mistake tears them apart. Will the boys find their way back to each other or will it be too late?...other characters: Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Dean, Seamus


**Settings: **Three years after Hogwarts; AU  
**Pairings: **HP/DM; RW/HG; NL/LL  
**Warnings: **story contains **Characters being OOC. **

**A/N: **so I've had this idea for a while now…like a long while…and I finally decided to put it on paper. Everything is canon up to the final battle; after that, it's AU…so no epilogue compliancy. While it splits between the two boys, it's mostly from Draco's POV. So, I hope you guys like it…enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **this story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended…in case you didn't get that, I own nothing.

"Speaking"  
_'Thinking'_

* * *

He opened his eyes before quickly slamming them shut at the sunlight that glared into the room. With a wave of his hand, a blind fell in front of the mirror sending the room in slight darkness. With a sigh, he rolled over completely ready to go back to sleep until he smelled a very enticing scent. A tiny smile played on his lips as he sat up in bed. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, capturing and savouring the scent before getting up and heading to the bathroom with a grin on his face.

After quickly going through his morning routines, he pulled on a pair of pyjama bottoms before heading downstairs. He went directly to the kitchen and stopped to watch the scene before him. He watched as his lover moved through the kitchen, preparing breakfast with an ease and grace that he knew the man didn't normally have. His love was only wearing a pair of jeans, ones that hung low on his hips, and nothing else. His dark hair was still as messy as it ever was.

When his lover turned, he caught sight of him and his bright green eyes lit up in happiness and a smile, full of love and shyness combined, came on his lips.

"You're up," the dark haired man said. "You didn't have to come down; I was planning on bringing you breakfast in bed."

"You spoil me Harry," he smiled as he walked into the kitchen towards him.

"That's what you do when you love someone Draco," Harry rolled his eyes as he kissed him. "You spoil them."

"Bite me," Draco smiled as he kissed him back.

"I did that already," Harry grinned at him, "twice last night and once this morning."

"Hmmm," Draco closed his eyes as he remembered exactly what they did last night and this morning. "Maybe we should do it again."

"Not now," Harry laughed as he pushed his boyfriend to his seat. "We have to meet the others this morning remember?"

"Can't we cancel on them?" Draco asked as he sat down.

"Right," Harry grabbed a plate and placed eggs, bacon, toast and sliced pineapple on it before placing it in front of Draco. "That would go over so well; 'sorry guys, we can't meet with you because we want to fuck each other's brains out'. As if Dray."

"It was just a thought," Draco huffed before he started in on his breakfast. He took a bite and then moaned at the deliciousness of it. "Merlin you're amazing."

"Thank you," Harry smiled. "Only for you though."

"It better be only me," Draco said, his possessiveness shining through.

"As if I need anyone else," Harry chuckled at his boyfriend and the possessiveness he could hear.

"Good," Draco smiled and the two finished their breakfast. When they were done, the dishes were cleared away with a wave of Harry's hand.

They went to get ready, using separate bathrooms, knowing if they shared one, they wouldn't leave on time. By the time they were done, they had five minutes to get to their destination.

"I still don't see why we have to go," Draco complained as they headed towards the front door.

They had decided to Apparate instead of using the Floo as it was a nice day out, and because Draco didn't feel like brushing soot off his clothes.

"Because they're our friends Draco," Harry replied, amusement mixed with exasperation colouring his voice as he opened the door. "Now stop being a prat and come on."

Muttering beneath his breath, Draco stepped outside. "Fine…come on then. Let's go before I change my mind."

Throwing a grin at his lover, Harry quickly locked and warded the house and the two boys made their way down the stairs and to the Apparition point just a short distance away.

The two wrapped their arms around each other and Apparated, reappearing in Hogsmeade. They headed down the path towards The Three Broomsticks, talking quietly amongst themselves and ignoring any looks they received.

They entered the building and stopped for a few seconds to look around, searching out their friends.

"Over there," Draco gestured to where their friends were sitting in a back corner, talking animatedly with each other.

The group consisted of Hermione, Blaise, Ron, Ginny, Pansy, Seamus and Dean. It was an odd sight to outsiders, even after the last few years, but none of them minded.

Sharing a grin, the boys quickly made their way back to the group.

"Hey guys!" Harry greeted as he and Draco walked up.

"It's about time you two got here," Hermione grinned in greeting at the two.

The others offered up their own greetings and then make space for the two boys to sit down.

"What took you guys so long to get here?" Ginny asked, looking from one boy to the other.

"I know what took them so long," Blaise leered at the two boys.

"Shut up you wanker," Harry laughed.

The group dissolved into laughter before settling into their standard conversations.

Harry relaxed into Draco's side and watched his friends. As he felt the blond's arm settle around his shoulder, he couldn't help but to smile. If someone had told him back at Hogwarts that he'd be sitting here at this moment with the three Slytherins as friends, and him dating the Prince of Slytherin himself, he would've had them committed to St Mungo's.

But things change and people change and boy had they changed; all of them. It's been three years since they graduated Hogwarts and four since the war. The first few weeks after the war was over were being with families and simply enjoying a world without Voldemort.

They had then spent the next few weeks repairing Hogwarts, so that the school would have been ready to open in time for September. It had been challenging and tempers had flared, but they had quickly died and things had progressed far quicker and much easier.

But rebuilding Hogwarts had only been the start. After that, the trials had started; to avoid what former Minister for Magic Fudge had done to Sirius, all the captured Death Eaters would be granted a trial.

Everyone had been shocked when he had chosen to testify on behalf of the Malfoys; he had explained how Narcissa was the only one with her hands completely clean as she had done nothing, adding on that if it wasn't for her, if she hadn't have lied to Voldemort about whether he was alive or not, none of them would be here as Voldemort would've surely won. He had gone on to say that he had admired her bravery to go against such a powerful dark wizard as he knew it hadn't been easy.

After he had testified for Narcissa, doing the same for Draco had not been difficult. He had testified that Draco was as much victim as anyone else. Of course that had not gone down well with anyone, especially Ron and his family, but he had been determined. He had told them of how Draco had only been doing what he had been raised to do and that as much as he was a brat, he was not a killer. He had told them of the visions he had received from Voldemort; visions that showed the madman ordering Draco to torture someone and the blond had refused to do so, only to be punished with the Cruciatus Curse.

When they had brought up Dumbledore's death, he had had a counter ready; not only was Draco ordered to kill Dumbledore under threat of his mother's life, but Dumbledore himself knew of Draco's plans to kill him. He knew though, that Draco would not be able to do it, but hadn't done anything about it as he knew that Voldemort could've harmed Narcissa or Draco at any time. Instead, he had made a deal, a vow, with Severus Snape that when the time came, he Snape would kill him instead in order to not only protect Snape's cover as a spy, but to save Draco's soul from having the stain of murder on it at such a young age.

His defence of Lucius had been completely different due to the fact that not only did he know what he was doing it, but he had not been coerced into joining Voldemort's ranks. He had testified that Lucius had been a willing follower up until the Battle at the Department of Mysteries, but his turning point had been when Voldemort had given his son the task of killing Dumbledore, all the while knowing that it was a task his son would fail at and that at the end, Draco's life would be forfeit. However, what it all came down to was, despite being a Death Eater, Lucius had never actually killed anyone.

He had testified that they didn't have to believe him; it was a simple matter of giving Lucius Veratiserum.

At the end of the trials, both Draco and Narcissa had been set free while Lucius had been sentenced to a year in Azkaban followed by two years' house arrest.

It could've been worse and all three Malfoys had known it.

A nudge to his side drew Harry out of this thoughts and he looked up to see Draco staring at him.

"You ok?" the blond inquired.

Harry grinned in response. "I'm ok; just thinking."

"Bad sign there mate," Seamus teased, causing the others to laugh.

"Shut up," Harry fired back.

Draco chuckled and subconsciously tightened his hold on his boyfriend.

"Nice comeback mate," Ron grinned, laughing when Harry threw one of the bread rolls at him. He caught and took a bite. "Thanks."

Harry shook his head and said nothing.

"So did you guys hear about the Falcon Farrows Seeker?" Ginny asked, and promptly pulled everyone into a Quidditch discussion, even Hermione, though she rolled her eyes and huffed and some parts.

Harry allowed the conversation to flow over him as he took a sip of the butterbeer Draco ordered for him; something the blond did without him noticing until the butterbeer was in his hand.

He couldn't help but to let his mind drift back to the past again. This time, to the Weasleys.

Back then, they—with the exception of George and Arthur—had been angry over his defence of the Malfoys, especially Ron and it had taken them a while to get over it. Hermione, unsurprisingly, had understood why Harry had done what he did and though it had taken a short time to wrap her mind around it, she had and had also accepted it.

But things between him and the Weasleys, especially Ron and Ginny had remained strained for a while. Especially when they had all gone back to school; Ginny for her final year, and the seventh who had survived for their eighth year to complete their schooling.

Of course among those returning were the Slytherins, something that had bothered and upset majority of the rest of the eighth year students as well as those a year or two younger.

So as it was, when he had been polite and courteous to the Slytherins, Draco and Pansy especially, it had not sit well with the other students and many of them had loudly voiced their displeasure.

But he had been stubborn and was done with letting people dictate his life. No one was going to stop him from being nice to anyone, and that had included Ron. Of course, Ron hadn't taken it well, in fact, he had downright refused to talk to Harry for a while but then he had realized that he had turned his back on Harry one too many times and he wasn't about to do it again.

However, once the polite acquaintance between he and Draco had slowly turned to friendship, coupled with the fact that he Harry had had no intention of getting back with Ginny, things had been strained once again.

It had taken time—like over a year after they graduated—for Ron to finally understand and accept that not only was Harry not getting back together with Ginny, but that Draco was now going to be a permanent fixture in his life.

He was startled out of his thoughts once again, but this time it was by everyone standing up.

"We're leaving already?" Harry asked as he stood up as well. "It feels like we just got here."

Hermione laughed. "You've been in your own little world. We decided we're gonna walk around."

Harry's cheeks flushed. He couldn't help it. "Sorry guys."

The others waved off his apology.

"Don't worry about it," Dean grinned. "If anyone earned the right to let their mind wander off, it's you."

"Ok," Harry conceded with a nod, wanting to end the line of talking. "So where to first?"

"We'll just walk," Blaise answered. "And see where our feet takes us."

"While normally I would disagree with such a notion," Pansy said, "that actually sounds pretty good. No forethought; just walk and see where we end up."

The others made noises of agreement and soon enough, the group left The Three Broomsticks and made their way through Hogsmeade.

"You've been really pensive love," Draco whispered to Harry as they walked behind their friends.

"Sorry," Harry replied back as he drifted closer to the blond.

"It's ok," Draco shrugged before wrapping an arm around Harry's shoulder. "So, what has your mind so captive that even we cannot hold it?"

Harry let out a small laugh. "Nothing too bad. I was just thinking about our past; how everything happened and how we got to this point."

Draco smiled. "I don't think anyone back then thought that this was how things would've turned out."

Harry remained quiet for a few minutes. "I hoped."

Draco stopped walking and looked at him for a few minutes before dropping a kiss on Harry's lips. "I hoped as well."

Harry grinned and moved to tangle their fingers together and the two resumed walking, slowly catching up to their friends.

As they walked, Harry couldn't help but to think on how he and Draco had gotten together. It hadn't been easy, which wasn't a shock considering who they both were, but it hadn't been hard either.

It had all started with a tentative friendship, one that had solidified as time had passed. Of course none of their respective friends completely understood it; it was one thing to be polite and courteous to each other, but another thing to actually _be _friends.

But they had done it, and over time, their friendship grew; they had taken to spending time together. Sometimes they'd talk about their lives, including their past and future and other times they'd just sit around and do school work together.

Neither Ron nor Ginny had taken his growing friendship with Draco well. In fact, nobody had at first. It had been something that had left his friends completely puzzled. But, when they realized that nothing they said or did was going to change anything, they had had no choice but to accept it and slowly but surely, they had started relaxing around not only Draco, but Blaise and Pansy as well.

By the time the two groups had graduated—seventh and eighth years—the friendships between the three Slytherins and the Lions had stabled.

And then, six months later, things had changed again. He and Draco had only grown closer after they had graduated, a fact that was accomplished by the fact that they had made Grimmauld Place habitable, completely redoing the house so it was okay to live in; which is what they had done. All six of them (Blaise, Harry, Pansy, Draco, Hermione and Ron) had moved in together. And being in such close proximity day in and out only made him and Draco grow extremely close, to the point where they had lunch together every day, with or without the others, but mostly without. And without him realizing it, his feelings for the blond shifted from friendship to more.

But he hadn't confessed outright, no. It had taken him months—three to be exact—to not only come to terms with his feelings, but to also gather the courage to tell the blond how he had felt. What had helped him was when he had spoken to Hermione. She had told him that she wasn't as shocked as she would've been a few years before, as back then, she would've tried to talk him out of it. But now, she's seen the way the two of them were together and she had admitted that she'd never seen him as happy as he was when he was with the blond.

After that talk, it had taken him another week or two before he had actually confessed to Draco. The two of them had gotten together not long after and had been a couple ever since.

And if he had thought that Ron had had a problem accepting his friendship with Draco, then then it had been worse when he had found about their newfound relationship. The redhead had blown a fuse. And he hadn't been the only one; Ginny had as well as she had been expecting, like her brother, that they would be together again, despite the fact that he had told them in no uncertain terms that that wasn't going to happen.

That blowout had been even bigger than when he had refused to join the Auror Training Program with Ron. It had taken them even longer to accept the relationship than the friendship. And now, just over two years later, their friendships were still there.

"Harry, really, where are you?" Draco asked, this time, his voice laced with concern.

Harry shook his head. "I'm sorry. I'm nowhere really."

"You're somewhere," Draco insisted. "You've been absent since we got here to meet the others."

And it had him concerned that something was very wrong.

Harry sighed. "I was in the past I suppose. I was thinking about us; how it took a while for everyone to accept us. It's just-sometimes I still can't believe that this is really real and not just a dream."

"I feel the same," Draco told him. "I've always done what was expected of me and for the first time, I did something what I wanted; went against the Malfoy expectations, something I never thought I'd have been able to do. And now that I'm here now, I sometimes find myself wondering if it's all too good to be true; that I don't deserve this. Deserve you."

Harry turned so that he could wrap his arms around his lover's shoulders in a hug. "You do deserve this. We both do. And even though sometimes I think this could be dream, I know it's real and I'm not letting go."

Draco wrapped his own arms around Harry's waist and tightened his grip. "I don't care who has a problem with this; I'm not letting you go either."

Harry smiled and leaned up to kiss the blond. "I love you. Something I never thought was possible, but is completely true."

Grey eyes lit up with delight as a smile filled with Draco's face. The sight of it never failed to take Harry's breath away.

"I love you too," Draco kissed him again. "Now come on; let's go before the others think we ditched them."

Harry laughed and the two hurried to join their friends.

"Seriously if you guys keep stopping to make out," Ginny teased.

"We didn't," Harry answered, though his cheeks flushed. "We were just talking."

"Even I don't believe that mate," Ron laughed.

"Are we gonna walk or not?" Harry asked, mock anger in his voice.

"Touchy, touchy," Blaise grinned. "But yes. Let's continue on."

The group continued on their journey, going to most of the places before finally ending up at Honeyduke's Sweetshop. There, each ended up with a full bag of sweets. They then left the store and headed over to WWW, where they spent some time around George, before heading back to their respective homes.

_**~***~TLFM~***~ **_**Time Skip [One week later] **_**~***~TLFM***~**_

The group met up once more; this time, for a night out on the town. They had decided to go to a club in Muggle London, an idea courtesy of Dean, and had all decided to meet up at Harry and Draco's place before they would leave together to go to the club.

"Is everyone here?" Harry asked as he walked out of the kitchen into the living room.

"Almost," Ginny answered as she straightened her top. "Seamus and Blaise are still out."

Dean shook his head. "Could've sworn Seamus would've been here by now. When I checked by his place, he was almost done getting ready."

Pansy let out a chuckle. "It doesn't surprise me at all that Blaise is late. That boy always has to look spectacular and is almost always late. The only one worse than him is Draco."

"Hey!" Draco responded with a grin as he walked in the room, coming to stand next to Harry. "I am not that bad!"

At his declaration, all eyes turned him to him in disbelief; Hermione even had one eyebrow raised sceptically.

"Yeah, you kind of are," Harry said, but grinned to show the blond he was joking, but not really. Draco really was bad at being on time as, in his words, it took time to create perfection.

Draco stared at his friends for a few minutes before letting out a sigh. "Fine," he conceded. "You guys are right."

"Of course we are," Hermione grinned.

Just then, the Floo activated and Blaise stepped out seconds later. Before he could say anything though, it flared up again and this time, Seamus stepped through.

"Great, we're all here!" Ron clapped his hands together. "Now let's go."

"Impatient little lion, isn't he?" Blaise said as he dusted the Floo powder from his clothes.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "He just wants to drink and look like a fool doing what he _thinks _is dancing."

"I can dance woman!" Ron scowled over at his girlfriend.

Ginny snorted. "Yeah right. Fourth year Yule Ball bring any memories?"

At his sister's words, Ron winced but then quickly recovered. "But Harry was the one that kept stepping on Parvati's toes."

"How did I get into this?" Harry questioned, looking at the two in bemusement.

"Can we please go?" Seamus interrupted. "I'm ready to get my groove going."

"Well you heard him," Dean chuckled. "Let's go so Seamus can get his groove thang going."

That prompted everyone to laugh as Seamus flushed slightly.

"Alright…let's go," Harry said as he started herding everyone to the door. "Taxis are outside, ready and waiting."

One by one, the group left the house and headed out for their night of fun. They were unaware that by morning, things would change completely between them all.

_**~***~TLFM~***~ **_**Time Skip [the next morning]**_** ~***~TLFM~***~**_

Draco returned to his and Harry's flat. When he stepped through the Floo, he had to pause to take in the scene before him. All of their friends were sprawled over the floor and chairs.

The blond couldn't help but to let out a soft chuckle as he stepped over their sprawling bodies. He had left the party early last night—just about an hour in—as he had suddenly remembered that his father had needed to speak with him. He had considered leaving it until the next day, but knew that that would've only made Lucius more irate, so reluctantly—very reluctantly—he had left to go to Malfoy Manor.

At the time, he had been a little mad at having to cut his time with Harry and the others short, but looking at the sprawling bodies, along with the mess, he was glad that he hadn't stayed the rest of the night.

Since he hadn't, he could laugh now over how they were arranged: Blaise was lying with his head in Dean's lap and one of his hands on Hermione's chest with the other wrapped around a bottle; Hermione herself was lying across Ron. Ginny was sitting on the love seat behind Dean, her body positioned so that her head was resting on one arm and her legs were over the other; Dean's head was tilted back. Pansy seemed to be the smartest one and was lying long ways on the couch.

The only ones missing were his boyfriend and Seamus, and knowing the Irishman, he suspected he might have passed out in the loo or something.

He looked around for his boyfriend and when he couldn't find him, he headed up the stairs to their bedroom. What he saw when he opened the door, left him frozen and his heart feeling like it was breaking to pieces in his chest.

Harry was lying in bed, but he wasn't alone; Seamus was with him, and it was obvious to see that they were both naked.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

The blond had no idea how long he stood there staring at the scene in front of him, but movement from the bed drew him out of his shock.

Harry groaned as he stretched slightly. He felt a body behind him and an arm around his waist and he relaxed minutely; Draco was with him.

He didn't remember Draco coming back last night but he figured it must've been when he had already fallen asleep.

Hearing his boyfriend moan and move behind him, he turned over, a smile already on his face, but he froze when he noticed that the body behind him was not Draco.

"Seamus?!"

The Irish boy woke up fully, staring at Harry with wide eyes. "Harry? What's going on?"

"Oh God," Harry looked sick. "What happened? What did we do?"

"Seems pretty simple to me," Draco spoke up, drawing the attention of the two boys.

When they saw him, horror and disbelief filled them.

"Draco," Harry whispered. His eyes filled with tears as he took in the pain on his boyfriend's face.

Draco lashed out to hide the pain shadowing his heart. "I suppose my night wasn't as good as yours."

Harry scrambled from the bed, forgetting that he was naked. "Draco…wait…let me explain!"

Cool grey eyes scanned the brunet's body from head to toe. "I think I got all the explanation I needed _Potter_."

Harry actually flinched back when he heard his last name and the venom it was said with. It was something that hadn't been done since before the war. Since they had started on their truce and then friendship, Draco had stopped calling him by his last name and had started calling him by his first.

And to hear it now, said that way, it tore into him and the tears spilled over.

"Draco, please," Harry pleaded as he quickly grabbed his pants and pulled them on.

The blond just shook his head and walked away.

Terrified, Harry stumbled after him, not even throwing a glance at Seamus, who held his head in his hands, his body shaking as he cried over the mess that had been created.

_**~***~TLFM~***~ **_**Scene Change **_**~***~TLFM~***~**_

It was the combined sound of Draco's hurried footsteps and Harry's panicked shouting that woke the others.

When Draco rushed into the room, they were all awake in time to catch a glimpse of the blond's face, a glimpse of the heartache that was present for all to see.

But they could only watch on in confusion as they had no idea what had brought such a look to Draco's face.

Harry rushed into the room just minutes later, just in time to see Draco reaching for the Floo powder.

The group's confusion grew when they saw the tears and panicked expression on Harry's face.

"Draco, please don't go," Harry cried out, "please let me explain. Please."

Draco stopped, but didn't turn around, knowing that if he did, his resolve would break as he could never stand to see Harry cry…not after they had gotten together.

"Is there anything you could offer up that could make me understand what I saw?" Draco asked, "Anything that would give a different explanation than to what obviously happened?"

And Harry couldn't answer because the blond was right. Nothing he said would change what happened; even if he himself wasn't sure what had happened. He never drank—effect left over from the Dursleys—so he remembered everything about last night. But none of that explained why he had ended up in bed with Seamus of all people. He cared about Seamus, but he'd never felt anything other than friendship for him. So the two of them sleeping together did not make sense.

But how could he explain all that to Draco when he couldn't find an explanation for himself?

"Were you drunk?" Draco asked.

Harry shook his head, even though the blond couldn't see it. "No."

"Then there is no explanation," Draco hissed. "There is nothing that could excuse what you did."

Seamus stepped into the room.

Draco couldn't stop the venomous glare that he threw to him. "I hope it was worth it. I hope destroying this was worth it." He turned his attention back to Harry. "We're done."

"No," Harry let out a whimper, taking a shaky step towards the blond. "Please."

"I want nothing to do with you," Draco sneered. He paused and then scoffed. "And people had said that I would be the one to ruin this. I never want to see you again."

With that, he activated the Floo and disappeared in a flash of green flames.

The moment he was gone, Harry fell to his knees. "No."

That finally prompted the others to move out of their stupefied states.

Hermione was the first to reach her fallen friend. "Harry, what's going? Why is Draco so mad?"

Instead of answering, Harry curled himself into her body and sobbed his heart out, leaving the girl looking at the others in helplessness.

Dean turned to his friend. "Seamus, do you know what happened?"

Seamus let out a sob as he stood up. "I can't. I can't. I'm so sorry. Harry, I'm so sorry."

With that, he hurried to the Floo and quickly disappeared before anyone could stop him.

"What the bloody hell happened just now?" Ron blurted out, eyes darting from Harry's crumbled form, to the fireplace where Seamus, and Draco, had disappeared and back to Harry.

"Harry," Hermione tried again to get her friend to talk to her, but couldn't. Taking a deep breath, she straightened—as much as she could with her arms still full of Harry—and turned to the others. "Blaise, Pansy, go after Draco; see if you can find out what happened between them."

"And I'll go after Seamus to see what he knows," Dean said before she could begin on him.

"Ok," Hermione gave him a brief smile before sighing. "Whatever it is, it's not good. It was bad enough for Draco to end things and then storm out of here." She looked over at Pansy and Blaise. "Please, find out what he knows. I know these two love each other and it can't be bad enough for them to break up. We can't let it. No one deserves happiness more than them. They've been through enough."

"We'll fix this Hermione," Pansy whispered as she squeezed the witch's shoulder.

"We'll be back," Blaise said, "and hopefully with answers."

The two disappeared through the Floo, quickly followed by Dean, leaving Hermione, Ron and Ginny with the crying Harry.

Ginny kneels down next to the duo. Her worried face glanced at Harry before she shifted her gaze to Hermione. "What do _you _think happened?"

Hermione bit her lip and looked down at Harry, but didn't answer. Truth was, she did have an idea of what happened, but for the second time in her life—the first was when she had realized that Harry was going to tell them he was a Horcrux—she hoped she was wrong.

_**~***~TLFM~***~ **_**Scene Change **_**~***~TLFM~***~**_

The moment he arrived back at his childhood home, Draco immediately headed for his room. He did not want to be stopped by his parents to speak to them because he knew he was close to breaking down and to do it in front of them would just be too much.

He quickly got to his old bedroom, but before he could shut the door behind him, Pansy and Blaise slipped through.

"Draco, talk to us," Pansy pleaded as she watched her childhood friend. She could read the pain in his eyes and she was desperate to know what caused it, and how to fix it.

Draco shook his head, his hands clenched into tight fists.

"What happened Draco?" Blaise asked, moving to sit on the chaise lounge, never taking his eyes off his friend.

The blond remained quiet, long enough for both Pansy and Blaise to think they wouldn't get answer, before he spoke.

Haltingly, he told them the scene he had come upon just earlier. He, as well as the other two, were unaware that Lucius—who had seen Draco's, as well as Pansy and Blaise's arrival—was right outside the door, listening in.

When they heard the story, the two were completely shocked.

"I don't believe it," Pansy shook her head.

"Believe it!" Draco snapped at her, his grey eyes shining with tears. "I know what I saw!"

"But it doesn't make sense," Blaise said, "Harry loves you. We know that. _You _know that. Why would he cheat on you? And with Seamus of all people?"

"Blaise is right," Pansy agreed, "Harry isn't the type to cheat. He's as loyal as they come and he's completely loyal to you Draco. He loves you."

"Well he did cheat!" Draco snarled, "And he can't bloody well claim he was drunk because he doesn't drink. And since he doesn't drink, and you lot were with him, so no one cast a spell, it means he did it of his own free will."

A sob escaped him, despite his best efforts to keep it in. "The bloody bastard cheated."

The sob was the catalyst for his emotions to break free as the realization of the end of his relationship crashed into him.

Unknowingly mirroring Harry's actions, Draco fell to his knees as he broke down.

Pansy let out a whimper and quickly moved to kneel next to him, pulling him into a hug.

Between cries, came 'I thought he loved me', 'I can't believe he did this', and, 'I knew it was too good to be true'.

"He does love you Draco," Pansy insisted. In all honesty, if it was anyone else, she would've been the firs to start hexing, but she had been there for their relationship from the start and even though it had taken her a while to accept it, she had seen how good the two boys were for each other and how much Harry loved Draco. It was why she had such a hard time believing that the green-eyed boy did this deliberately.

And a look to Blaise showed that the Italian felt the same way she did. They had to figure out what really happened and how to fix it. And if it turned out that Harry really had been playing her friend, then she would not hesitate to retaliate. Just because the war was over and things had changed, just because her family was basically gone didn't mean she forgot what she was raised on.

_**~***~TLFM~***~ **_**Scene Change **_**~***~TLFM~***~**_

Back with Harry, the brunet's sobs had died down to soft cries, though he was still curled in Hermione's embrace.

Ron and Ginny had both settled on the couch, the two still staring at their friend, hoping that he would calm down enough to tell them what happened.

The Floo flaring up drew their attention and the three looked up to see Blaise coming back through.

"Did you get anything from Draco?" Hermione asked before either Ron or Ginny could.

"Yeah," Blaise nodded, dark eyes taking in Harry's form. Just seeing him like that, as broken as Draco appeared to be, he couldn't believe Harry had willingly did this.

"And?" Ron asked, impatience colouring his voice. "What did he say?"

"Harry and Seamus slept together," Blaise replied. "That's what he walked in on."

The news shocked the trio.

"What?" Hermione whispered. She had been right. She had suspected, but oh how she had hoped she was wrong.

"That can't be true," Ginny said, "Harry would never do that."

"That's what Draco said happened," Blaise told them, "Look; I'm in as much disbelief as the lot of you. I know Harry loves Draco. If I didn't believe that, I would not have let the relationship get this far without saying something."

"Harry isn't a cheater," Ron insisted. "Maybe Malfoy saw wrong, or maybe he was drunk."

"Harry doesn't drink," Hermione replied instantly, causing Blaise to nod.

"That's what Draco said," Blaise said. "That's why it hurts so much because if Harry wasn't drunk, and as Draco pointed out, he was with us and no one casted a spell on him, then Harry did this of his own free will."

Hermione shook her head. "I don't believe that. I know Harry. There has to be more to the story than that."

She looked down at the body in her arms. "Harry, Harry, I need you to talk to me. What happened between you and Seamus? Did you really-did you really sleep with him?"

At the question, Harry broke down again. He couldn't answer because he still didn't believe, or understand, how he could've done that. He loved Draco, more than anything! He was willing—although hoping he wouldn't have to—the friendship of Ron and Hermione and the Weasleys to stay with him. He wasn't drunk. So then why did he do this? Why would he sleep with Seamus?

How could he hurt Draco like that? After everything the blond had been through, everything they both had been through.

And how was he going to fix it? _Could _he even fix it? Would Draco allow him to apologize? Would he accept it? Would he take him back? What if he decided he didn't want that? That they were over for good?

That thought had Harry's heart aching even more and his cries renewed. They just had to work it out. If Draco never forgave him, if the blond decided they really were over, he didn't know what he would do. He couldn't imagine the rest of his life without the blond there.

_**~***~TLFM~***~ **_**Time Skip [A few weeks later] **_**~***~TLFM~***~**_

In his room at Malfoy Manor, Draco stood at a bedroom window, staring out at the grounds of his family home, but he wasn't seeing anything.

Instead, his mind was focused on everything that had happened over the last few weeks. Things hadn't gotten better since the morning after the party. Harry had sent him owl after owl, message after message, begging and pleading for them to talk, and he had ignored it all.

But, unsurprisingly, that hadn't stopped the brunet. Instead, Harry had shown up at the Malfoy Manor, hoping that he'd have a chance of them talking in person, but that hadn't worked either.

The first few times, his father had been there to meet him as soon as he had stepped out the Floo and had refused to let him go further. After that, his father had actually warded the Floo against Harry so he wouldn't be able to come through anymore.

And again, that hadn't stopped Harry and he had had to deal with the others bringing by messages from his ex or them trying themselves to get him to go to Harry.

He refused to. Every time they tried to talk to him, he would cut them off. He'd heard everything over and over; all the apologies and how he should just give him a chance and he was tired of it. He knew they were just trying to be helpful, but what they didn't know was how much it hurt to not reply to any of Harry's owls, how it hurt to ignore them when they said he was completely devastated and desperate.

They didn't know that deep down, he really wanted to talk to Harry; he wanted them to make things work, but his pride was stopping him.

His Malfoy pride.

His own mother was on the same side as his friends, but his father wasn't. The man had reminded him that the Malfoys had already sacrificed much of their pride, and dignity, in the war and after and that they shouldn't have to sacrifice it again. Malfoys were made a fool of once before and paid the price.

'_Father was right. I still have my pride and I can't just let it go. Harry made a fool of me and he broke my heart. What kind of Malfoy would I be if I allowed him the opportunity to do so again? No…'_

With a heavy sigh, Draco turned away from the window. Just as he did so, Pansy and Blaise enter his bedroom.

"If you're here once again to convince me to talk to Potter," Draco spoke before they could, "you're wasting your time."

"I'll do it as long as it takes to get you to listen," Pansy said, "and knowing you and your Malfoy pride, that could be a while."

Draco scowled at the girl. "You're my friend. You're supposed to be on my side."

"I _am _on your side Draco," Pansy replied, "but the reason I keep pushing this is because I've never seen as happy and relaxed as you've been with Harry."

"She's right," Blaise agreed, staring at his friend, watching the way he avoided looking at them. "Harry is the best thing that's ever happened to you and we just want you to not make the mistake of letting him go."

Pansy noted the avoidance as well, but didn't let that deter her. "The only reason why you won't admit that you know we're right, and why you won't just talk to him, give him a second chance, even though we both know you want to, is because of your pride."

"So what?" Draco sneered at her, not wanting to concede that she was right.

Pansy narrowed her eyes at him. She knew he was stubborn and that his pride was a heavy thing, but Merlin she didn't think he'd be _this _difficult. But, she was prepared. Time to play dirty.

"You know I'm not one to bring the past," she started, "especially one as…difficult as ours."

Draco glared at her, wondering where she was going with it. "If you don't want to bring it up, then don't."

Pansy of course ignored him. "You made a lot of mistakes Draco, some of them others would deem completely unforgiveable. But Harry did. He forgave you for your mistakes and gave you a second chance. And now, the situation has reversed and he needs you to forgive him and give your relationship another chance and you can't do it."

"Low blow Pansy," Draco replied harshly.

Pansy shrugged. "I know and I'm sorry I had to go there, but it's the truth."

Blaise suddenly clapped his hands. "Ok. We're done. You're right. This is your life, and your pride and we can't really force you to do anything. It's your decision on whether or not you forgive Harry and as your friends, we should accept that."

Pansy glared at the Italian, while Draco looked sceptic.

The last few weeks, the two of them had been adamant in trying to get him to just talk to Harry, to give him a second chance, and now all of a sudden Blaise was giving up?

"Well I'm glad you've finally accepted that," Draco said warily, still not believing that Blaise had really come around.

"I have," Blaise nodded. "I mean, you've said it enough times, so it had to sink in at some point that you and Harry were completely over."

"Good," Draco said as he turned to head to his wardrobe.

"Besides," Blaise continued, his eyes firmly fixed on the blond's form, "someone like Harry, it won't be long until he's not single anymore."

Draco tensed, but said nothing.

Since Blaise's eyes were on Draco, he saw the reaction and held back the triumphant grin. His friend had always had a possessive, and jealous, streak in him when it came to what he consider his.

"Fame and fortune aside," Blaise continued, "Harry is an amazing person. He's good looking, kind, generous, compassionate, and always willing to help someone else. Like I said, it won't be long until someone else notices all that about him. And then, just imagine; a few months, or a year or two, down the line and there's a notice in the _Prophet_, Harry Potter to bond.

"I mean, the last few years, I've always thought you and Harry would end up bonding, but well, since you're not together anymore, it's only fair he moves on and bonds with somebody else, right? But imagine being at the ceremony, at seeing Harry standing there in his robes, a smile on his face as he waits for his lover to join him. And then, a few years after that, Harry tells us that they're going to have a child together and—

"No!" Draco whirled around and cut Blaise off. But it wasn't just that vehement reply, his magic lashed out as well, unable to comprehend the thought of Harry being happy with someone else. Harry was his!

"No?" Blaise raised an eyebrow. "You'll have no choice in the matter Draco. You would've had your chance, but you're letting it slip you by all because you're listening to your head and not your heart."

Pansy walked over to the blond. "The fact that you reacted so strongly to the thought of Harry being with someone else should tell you something Draco. You still love him, and you still want to be with him, but you're letting your Malfoy pride stand in your way."

Draco bowed his head, finally admitting defeat. "I do still love him, but I'm still angry with him. And I can't get over the fact that he slept with someone else."

Pansy and Blaise exchanged looks, both happy that their friend had finally made an admission. From the tone of his voice, and his words, Draco seemed to finally want to fix things between him and Harry.

"I have an idea," Pansy said. "You're going to write two letters; one where you depict all your anger, your rage and pain over Harry's betrayal, saying all the things you wished you could've told him, letting him know just how you felt when he broke your heart. And in the other, you're going to look beyond the pain, and the anger, and you're going to write what's in your heart; how you really and truly feel about him."

"And what is doing that supposed to do?" Draco asked.

"It's to help you make a decision," Pansy explained. "After writing both letters, that's how you'll know where you really stand; truly unable to forgive him, or willing to give him a second chance. Whichever letter you lean more towards, that's how you'll make your decision and finally be able to truly move on."

Draco remained quiet as he thought over both Blaise and Pansy's words. Blaise's words had really gotten to him; despite that he and Harry had broken up and he was angry over the cheating, he still didn't like the thought of Harry being with somebody else. Just imagining the scenario that Blaise put forth left him reeling.

The thought of Harry bonding with someone, starting a family with them, and not him, made his heart and soul scream out a resounding 'No'. He just couldn't do it; he couldn't imagine it. Harry was his, Damnit!

"Draco?" Blaise called, drawing his friend out of his thoughts.

The blond looked up at the two.

"You're right, you know," Draco admitted out loud at last. "I'm not afraid to admit that he really was the best thing to happen to me. When I'm with him, I feel…I feel completely happy. And the thought of him being with someone else, it kills me. But Pansy, although you were right in saying that I made a lot of mistakes in the past and he forgave me for all of them, I can't just ignore how I felt about his own betrayal. So, I'm going to do what you suggested and I'm going to write those two letters. It's the only way to know for sure."

Pansy smiled, as did Blaise.

"Good," Pansy said. "I honestly believe this'll be a good thing Draco. You and Harry belong together."

"Now that that's settled," Blaise clapped, "let's go eat. I'm starving."

Pansy rolled her eyes while Draco chuckled. "You're always starving."

The two bickered as they left Draco's room and the blond followed them with a smile, feeling lighter than he had in a while.

_**~***~TLFM~***~ **_**Time Skip [two days later] **_**~***~TLFM~***~**_

Draco was in his room getting ready to head out to lunch with Blaise and the others before his plans for after; which was to see Harry.

He had done as Pansy had suggested and had written the two letters. She had been right; when he had finished with both of them, not only had he felt better, but he knew immediately what he wanted, and what he should do.

He wanted another chance with Harry. He had let his Malfoy pride stand in his way for too long, using it as an excuse to not see Harry when that had been all he wanted. But no more.

And what had made it really sink in that he had made the right decision was the owl he had received from Harry earlier that morning; in it, the brunet had asked for one last chance to talk and had explained that if he Draco was still angry, or he didn't show up, then he Harry would stop try to contact him and not only would he leave him alone, but he Draco wouldn't see or hear from him again.

Reading those words had made Draco remember Blaise's scenario and had sent his heart in a tizzy. No way was he letting that happen.

"Draco are you almost ready?" Blaise asked as he walked into the blond's bedroom.

"Almost," Draco replied as he continued getting ready. He turned and headed to the adjoining bathroom. Smiling he found the hair product he needed and proceeded to fix his hair, when he remembered that he hadn't replied to Harry.

'_What should I tell him? Saying we can talk sounds too simple…too…plain. It needs to be more. But how?' _the answer came to him. "Hey Blaise do me a favour?"

"What?" Blaise yelled back as he dropped into the chaise lounge near the window.

"There's a letter on the bedside table," Draco said as he ducked his head to grab a bottle that had fallen, "send it with an owl to Harry please."

He grinned when he heard Blaise reply. Suddenly he was filled with a nervous excitement. Harry would get the letter, and they would talk, and then they would have their second chance.

He honestly couldn't wait. He was done fighting. He was done letting his pride stop him from being happy. Blaise and Pansy had been right; Harry was the best thing that ever happened to him and he wasn't as happy as when he was with him.

He continued to fix his hair, thoughts of being with Harry again filling his mind. He really couldn't wait.

When he was satisfied with the end result, he left the bathroom. With an easy smile on his face, he made his way across the room to where Blaise was waiting.

"Did you send the letter to Harry?" Draco asked.

Blaise looked up at him and nodded. "Yes I did. Are you finally ready now?"

"Good. And I keep telling you, perfection can't be-" Draco stopped when something caught his eye. "Where's the letter that was sitting on the vanity table?"

"I sent it to Harry," Blaise answered, "like you asked me to."

At the words, Draco froze. "W-what?"

Blaise looked at his friend with worry and confusion. "The letter, on the vanity table, you asked me to owl it to Harry and I did."

Draco panicked. "No, no, no. I said the letter on the bedside table." He quickly turned and when his eyes caught sight of the paper lying innocently on the bedside table, he paled. "Oh no, please no."

"Draco, what is it?" Blaise asked, hurrying over to the blond side, now deeply concerned about his friend.

Draco didn't reply. Instead, he grabbed the letter and hurried from the room, quickly going down the stairs.

Concerned, Blaise immediately followed him.

Draco ran to the Floo and called out Harry's address and stepped in, disappearing just as Blaise arrived in the room.

Cursing, the Italian quickly followed. When he exited the Floo, it was to the sound of Draco frantically calling for Harry.

"What's going on Draco?" Blaise asked, but he received no reply.

Draco ignored his friend as he ran up the stairs to the bedroom, his heart pounding fiercely in his chest.

'_This can't be happening. This can't be happening.'_

When he entered the room, he froze. The room was empty; not just of Harry, but of his things as well.

Despite all of that, the truth refused to sink in.

"Draco," Blaise's voice was soft as he stood in the doorway of the bedroom, taking in the empty scene as well.

The blond rushed back out of the room and headed across the hall to the bathroom; Harry's stuff were gone from there as well.

Breathing heavily, Draco left the bathroom and headed back downstairs. He went to the kitchen, noting the empty spaces in the cupboards.

He then went back to the living room and finally realized what he hadn't noticed before; some of the pictures were missing.

He still wouldn't believe it. "No."

He conjured a _Patronus_ and sent it off to the others, asking if they'd seen Harry. He paced agitatedly as he waited on the responses.

Minutes later, the Floo activated and one by one, Hermione and the others came through.

"What's going on?" Hermione asked.

"Have you seen Harry?" Draco demanded, ignoring her question. "Any of you?"

"No," Pansy shook her head. "Not since a few days ago. Why? What's wrong Draco?"

At the words, Draco started shaking as the tears he had been holding back finally fell. "No."

"Mate," Ron frowned, "what's going on?"

"I think Harry left," Blaise was the one to answer. "All his clothes are gone."

"What?" Ginny demanded. "What do you mean Harry's gone?" she then whirled around to glare at Draco. "What did you do?!"

"Shut up Weasley!" Pansy snapped at the redhead girl before turning her attention to Draco. "Draco…"

"It was a mistake," Draco whispered, raising tear-filled grey eyes to his best friend. "A stupid mistake and now he's gone."

"What was a mistake Draco?" Hermione asked gently, her heart breaking for the young man in front of her. "Talk to us."

And he did; with shuddering breaths he explained Pansy's plan of the two letters, how he had written them, how he felt, the decision he had made, the letter he had gotten from Harry earlier that day asking to talk, and how Harry had received the letter filled with hate instead of the one that revealed how much he still loved the green-eyed boy.

Blaise closed his eyes and cursed when he heard that. It was his fault; he had grabbed the wrong letter and had owled it.

"I'm so sorry Draco," the Italian whispered.

Draco shook his head, even as a cry slipped out. "It's not your fault. I shouldn't have kept that letter. I should've burnt it because," another cry, "because Harry got it and he left because he thinks I hate him. But I don't. I love him. I love him and I want him back."

It was like a repeat of the morning weeks ago, only instead of Harry being in Hermione's arms, it was Draco.

"We'll find him Draco," Hermione vowed. "We'll find him and we'll make this right."

Draco wanted to believe her, he really did, but he couldn't. Harry was gone, out of his life for good, all because of a simple, stupid mistake. And it was too late to fix it.

* * *

**A/N 2: **so…what did you guys think? Now remember, I did put OOC in the warnings label, so please, no one gripe at me about Draco; please remember that this is after the war, so of course they—him especially—will not be the same. He's more open, especially with showing emotions, when it comes to being around his closest friends and they—meaning Hermione, Pansy, Blaise, and even Ginny and Ron—are considered his closest friends now.

**A/N 3: **If everyone liked this, and wants me to write up the next part (it will be multi-chaptered, but probably not too long) then that part will show Harry's POV, and also the events of this from the others' POVs as well, though it will mainly be done with flashbacks as that story will be set about three years after this.

**A/N 4: **this is to all my RDA fans: the new chapter is complete. However, I haven't heard from my beta reader/co-author in a few months, so I have no idea what she has, if anything, to contribute to the new chapter. In all honesty, I'm not even sure when I'll hear from her as the last time I did, her and her family were travelling. So, do you guys want me to just go ahead and post the new chapter as is, and then if/when my co-author gets back to me, I can just edit and update the chapter with what she has…or, would you want me to wait for her? Please let me know…

Once again, thanks for reading this and don't forget to review!

_Kila_


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